Kevin Wong, Associate Professor of Education

Kevin M. Wong

Program Chair For MA in TESOL

Associate Professor of Education

Education Division, Graduate School of Education and Psychology

Biography

Dr. Kevin M. Wong is an Associate Professor of Education and Chair of the MA in TESOL Program in the Graduate School of Education and Psychology at Pepperdine University. Dr. Wong draws from his biracial, multilingual upbringing in Hong Kong to examine language learning among children, with a particular interest in new language learning and heritage language maintenance. As a former elementary public school teacher, Dr. Wong seeks educational equity for linguistically and culturally diverse students in Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12 contexts.

He is currently involved in research projects that investigate Chinese-English dual-language bilingual education programs, multiracial children's literature and identity development, and bilingual vocabulary learning from educational media. Dr. Wong has spoken at national and international conferences, and his research has appeared in peer-reviewed journals including Journal of Educational Psychology, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, and Computer Assisted Language Learning.

Education

PhD, New York University
MEd, Teachers College, Columbia University
MA, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
BA, Duke University

Research
Awards
Media

Wong, K. M., Hill, H. C., & Najera, E. (in press). Humanizing online language teaching through instructional and affective moves: Reflections from an ELD teacher. CATESOL Journal.
Wong, K. M. & Neuman, S. B. (in press). Learning L2 vocabulary on screen: The role of screen-based pedagogical supports for young dual language learners. Computer Assisted Language Learning.
Wong, K. M. & Tian, Z. (2022). Chinese-English dual languagebilingual education in the United States 美国中英双语沉浸式教学. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 43(6), 477-486.
Miyake-Trapp, J. & Wong, K. M. (2022). "The Critical Language Reflection Tool: Promoting critical reflection and critical consciousness in TESOL educators" in J. Crawford & R. A. Filback (Eds.), TESOL Guide for Critical Praxis in Teaching, Inquiry, and Advocacy (p. 203-220). IGI Global.
Wong, K. M. & Samudra, P. (2021). L2 vocabulary learning from educational media: Extending dual-coding theory to dual-language learners. Computer Assisted Language Learning.
Wong, K. M., Flynn, R. M., & Neuman, S. B. (2021). Incidental vocabulary learning from educational media: Explicit scaffolds on screen support preschool-aged dual language learners. TESOL Journal, 12(4).
Wong, K. M. & Moorhouse, B. L. (2021). Digital competence and online language teaching: Hong Kong language teacher practices in primary and secondary classrooms. System, 103, 653-671.
Wong, K. M. (2020). "Learning English through Educational Media: Drawing from Children's Linguistic Repertoires" in K. Bailey & R. Damerow (Eds.), Chinese-speaking learners of English: Research, theory, and practice. Routledge, New York, NY. ISBN:1000769194
Wong, K. M. & Moorhouse, B. L. (2020). The impact of social uncertainty, protests, and COVID-19 on Hong Kong teachers. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 25(8), 649-655.
Wong, K. M. & Benson, C. (2019). Policy and practice in L1-based multilingual education: Challenges and steps forward. FIRE: Forum for International Research in Education, 5(3), 1-11.
Wong, K. M. & Benson, C. (2019). Policy and practice in the use of non-dominant languages in comparative education [Special issue]. FIRE: Forum for International Research in Education.
Wong, K. M. & Neuman, S. B. (2019). Learning vocabulary on screen: A content analysis of pedagogical supports in educational media programs for Dual-Language Learners. Bilingual Research Journal, 42(1), 54-72.
Neuman, S. B., Wong, K. M., Flynn, R. & Kaefer, T. (2019). Learning vocabulary from educational media: The role of pedagogical supports for low-income preschoolers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 111(1), 32-44.

Outstanding Emerging Teacher Educator Award (2024), California Council on Teacher Education (CCTE)
Community-Based Research Grant (2022), Pepperdine University, $20,000
Outstanding Dissertation Award (2022), American Educational Research Association, Early Education and Child Development SIG
Provost Grant (2021), Pepperdine University, $3,000
Paul R. Pintrich Dissertation Award (2020), American Psychological Association, Educational Psychology Division 15
Doctoral Dissertation Grant (2018), The International Research Foundation for English Language Education
Deborah Partridge Wolfe Laureate Scholarship in Multicultural Education (2017), Kappa Delta Pi
Mister Rogers Memorial Scholarship (2017), The Television Academy Foundation (Emmys Foundation), Los Angeles
George W. Perkins Memorial Scholarship (2015), Teachers College, Columbia University, New York
行政長官卓越教學獎 (2010), Chief Executive's Award for Teaching Excellence, Hong Kong

In the Media

Multilingual, Multiracial, Multicultural Education (The Kids’ Table Podcast, 2022)
Are Educational Videos Leaving Low-Income Students Behind? (The Hechinger Report, 2018)
The Value of a Video (U.S. News, 2018)
Streaming Platforms Show Promise - and Risks - for Developing Literacy in Preschoolers (EdSurge, 2018)
Raised and Confused: Screen Babies (Vice Video, Season 1, Episode 1, 2017)
Raised and Confused: Children of the App (Vice Video, Season 1, Episode 3, 2017)
Digital Storybooks Might Be Just as Good as an Adult Reading to a Child (The Hechinger Report, 2017)
Navigating Asian and Asian American Identities (Edutopia, 2017)
Using Multiple Languages to Support Bilingual Learners (The Huffington Post, 2017)
Is Perfect Bilingualism Attainable? (The Huffington Post, 2017)
Maybe You Don’t Need to Be So Worried About Your Kid Using an iPad (New York Post, 2017)
Raising Bilingual Children: Who Should Speak What? (The Huffington Post, 2016)
Bilingual Learning: Double the Vocabulary, Double the Time? (The Huffington Post, 2016)

GSEP Pepperdine Newsroom

Courses

MATP620: Literacy Theory and Methods
MATP630: Teaching English Learners
EDTE601: Applied Linguistics for Language Educators
EDTE606: Theory to Practice – Language Pedagogy
PGLC791: Dissertation Research